The graph above indicates how much you rely on
each of the four different learning modes: Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization, and
Active Experimentation.
These learning modes make up a four-phase cycle of learning.
Different learners start at different places in this cycle.
Effective learning eventually involves all four phases. You can see
by the placement of your kite which of the four learning phases you
tend to prefer in a learning situation. The closer the points of
your kite are to the 100% ring on the circle, the more you tend to
use that way of learning.

Another way to understand the four
points of your kite (your scores) is to compare them with the scores
of others. The percentage labels on the concentric circles above
represent the norms on the four basic scales ( CE, RO, AC, AE) for 1,446 adults ranging in age
from 18 to 60. This sample group contains slightly more women than
men, with an average of two years beyond high school in formal
education. A wide range of occupations and educational backgrounds
is represented. On the vertical line in the diagram above, find your
score for Concrete
Experience. For example, if your point is at the 60%
ring, that means you scored higher on CE than 60% of the people in this
sample group. You can compare your scores for each of the other
learning modes with the sample group.

The graph above indicates how much
you rely on each of the four different learning modes: Concrete Experience,
Reflective Observation,
Abstract Conceptualization,
and Active Experimentation.
These learning modes make up a four-phase cycle of learning.
Different learners start at different places in this cycle.
Effective learning eventually involves all four phases. You can
see by the placement of your kite which of the four learning
phases you tend to prefer in a learning situation. The closer
the points of your kite are to the 100% ring on the circle, the
more you tend to use that way of learning.

The closer your data point is to the
center of the grid, the more balanced your learning style. If
the data point falls near any of the far corners of the grid,
you tend to rely heavily on a particular learning style. If your
data point falls near a corner of the grid in the un-shaded
area, you tend to rely heavily on that particular learning
style. If your data point falls in a shaded area then your style
is characterized by a combination of the two adjoining learning
style types. For example, if your data point falls in the shaded
area between the Accommodating and Diverging quadrents your
learning style is characterized by a strong orientation to
Concrete Experience (CE) balanced by an equal emphasis on Active
Experimentation (AE) and Reflective Observation (RO), with
little emphasis on Abstract Conceptualization (AC). If your data
point falls in the middle shaded box, you balance CE & AC
and AE & RO.

You have the ability
to learn primarily from "hands-on" experience. You
probably enjoy carrying out plans and involving yourself
in new and challenging experiences. Your tendency may be
to act on "gut" feelings rather than on logical
analysis. In solving problems, you may rely more heavily
on people for information than on your own technical
analysis. This learning style is important for
effectiveness in action-oriented careers such as
marketing or sales. In formal learning situations, you
may prefer to work with others to get assignments done,
to set goals, to do field work, and to test out
different approaches to completing a project.

Interpreting Your Learning Style

Understanding
Your Movement Through the Cycle

Concrete
Experience (CE)Learning by experiencing

Learning from specific experiences

Relating to people

Being sensitive to feelings and people

Active
Experimentation (AE)Learning by doing

Showing ability to get things done

Taking risks

Influencing people and events through action

Abstract
Conceptualization (AC)Learning by thinking

Logically analyzing ideas

Planning systematically

Acting on an intellectual understanding of the
situation

Reflective
Observation (RO)Learning by reflecting

Carefully observing before making judgements

Viewing issues from different perspectives

Looking for the meaning of thing

The model
above describes the four phases of the learning cycle.
There are two ways you can take in experience - by
Concrete Experience
or Abstract
Conceptualization. There are also two
ways you deal with experience - by Reflective Observation
or Active Experimentation.
When you use both the concrete and abstract modes to
take in your experience, and when you both reflect and
act on that experience, you expand your potential to
completely engage in a learning process.

You may begin a
learning process in any of the four phases of the
learning cycle. Ideally, using a well-rounded learning
process, you would cycle through all four phases.
However, you may find that you sometimes skip a phase in
the cycle or focus primarily on just one. Think about
the phases you tend to skip and those you tend to
concentrate on.

Interpreting Your Learning Style

Identifying Your
Preferred Learning Style Type

On the Cycle of Learning graph based
on your answers (shown again at right), you can see that your scores
form the general shape of a kite. Because each person's learning style
is unique, depending on several dimensions of learning preferences,
everyone's kite shape will be a little different. The learning
preferences indicated by the shape of your kite tell you about your own
particular learning style and how much you rely on that style.

Your primary learning
modes involve Active Experimentation
and Concrete Experience,
you prefer using the Accommodating style. You
like to put ideas that you have practiced into action, finding still
more uses for whatever has been learned. You tend to accommodate, or
adapt to, changing circumstances and information. The larger the shape
in the upper left quadrant, the more you rely on this style. Your kite
shape should be similar to one of these:

Understanding your learning style type,
and the strengths and weaknesses inherent in that type, is a major step
toward increasing your learning power and getting the most from your
learning experiences.

Learning
Style Types

While your kite shape explains your
relative preferences for the four phases of the learning cycle, your
combined scores will explain which of the four dominant learning styles
best describes you. The following chart takes your scores for the four
learning modes, AC,
CE, AE, and RO, and subtracts them as follows:

AC

-

CE

(Abstract
vs. Concrete)

=

vertical axis

33

-

30

=

3

AE

-

RO

(Active
vs. Reflective)

=

horizontal
axis

41

-

16

=

25

The closer your data point is to the
center of the grid, the more balanced your learning style. If the data
point falls near any of the far corners of the grid, you tend to rely
heavily on a particular learning style. If your data point falls near a
corner of the grid in the un-shaded area, you tend to rely heavily on
that particular learning style. If your data point falls in a shaded
area then your style is characterized by a combination of the two
adjoining learning style types. For example, if your data point falls in
the shaded area between the Accommodating and Diverging quadrents your
learning style is characterized by a strong orientation to Concrete
Experience (CE) balanced by an equal emphasis on Active Experimentation
(AE) and Reflective Observation (RO), and with little emphasis on
Abstract Conceptualization (AC). If your data point falls in the
middle shaded box, you balance CE & AC and AE & RO.

The characteristics of the basic
learning style types are described through subsequent links below. The
names of the learning style types are adopted from several established
theories of thinking and creativity. Assimilating and Accommodating
originate in Jean Paiget's definition of intelligence as the balance
between the process of adapting concepts to fit the external world
(Accommodating) and the process of fitting observations of the world
into existing concepts (Assimilating). Converging and Diverging are the
two essential creative processes identified in J. P. Guilford’s
structure-of-intellect model and other theories of creativity.

You have the ability to learn
primarily from "hands-on" experience. You probably enjoy
carrying out plans and involving yourself in new and challenging
experiences. Your tendency may be to act on "gut" feelings
rather than on logical analysis. In solving problems, you may
rely more heavily on people for information than on your own
technical analysis. This learning style is important for
effectiveness in action-oriented careers such as marketing or
sales. In formal learning situations, you may prefer to work
with others to get assignments done, to set goals, to do field
work, and to test out different approaches to completing a
project.